Good tour rig

[Vince Klortho]

I'd be looking at Barefaced for a big bad 2x15 cab that weighs little.

That's what I would do. Definitely ! Two of them if your band is really loud.

For amps, I am a Hartke fan so I would get a Kilo. Possibly a couple of them and a rack to mount them in. I also like rackmounted tuners. A power conditioner would be useful to have in there too. If you go wireless then about a seven or eight slot rack would be the way to go. Lastly an fdeck HPF S3 could be nice to have.

 

[nojj]

OK, time to narrow the field.
Custom-made cabinets can probably be ruled out.
I'm not at at the level where I can ask for a trio of buxom belly dancers in my private suite.
(But hey, a man can dream.....)

Amps have to be rugged and built for abuse.
Especially if I don't have a personal tech for emergency situations.
Not sure if I can ask for 2 bass heads, much less extra cabs.
An option may be a nice bass pre, and 2 pwr amps.

I REALLY like bi-amp systems, but unsure if that's a good idea in this situation.

Like the suggestion of a rack rider, add that to the list.

Still on the fence about the fridges.
They're heavy, but a good point was made about tilting vs deadlifting.
A point to consider (at least back here)
is that big-ass cabs are designed to roll on floors & ramps.
Same prob I have with my 4x10s,
sometimes they have to be lifted off the 4W dollies to go up steps.
(Many Pgh bassists will remember The Graffiti as a case in point)
Got rid of my SVT cab and 2 Acoustic 360s for that reason,
plus the bottoms were getting beat up from dragging up steps.
I have 2 tilt wheeled cabs, and both have tiny wheels, easy to tip.

I don't think that anything really rare is a major option.
There's an availability issue,
and the tour company may not sit still for a prima-donna list,
especially one that a bassist moving in bigger circles than I
wouldn't ask for.

Another thing I'm not sure about is if the back-line will be moved in road cases.
Never was on a tour where they were, and my gear got beat-up quickly.

Last point is everything has to be dual-voltage.
Don't think that's a major issue.
Most current gear I've seen can run on either.

The band (at least our core group) isn't that loud.
But the production co is adding a lot of sidemen.

After I get done figuring out all this crap,
I get to do it all over again for basses..............

Invalid Link Removed

 

[banikek]

I have never been on a major tour, only regional van-based stints so take my comments with a grain of salt.

I was also going to suggest a lightweight power amp (1500 watt Crown XLS-1500 or similar). Cheap, lite, powerful. Sellect a nice neutral preamp (ART?). Get a second power amp as a spare. You could even have them all racked up together. Also bring your favorite preamp pedal as a backup to the rack preamp (VT Bass, Tonehammer, etc.) or to color the tone.

Then I would sellect two 4x10 cabs. Loaded with Neos. GK's?

I think this would give you lots of options and backup possibilites. Plus give you stuff you can use when it gets back to the States.

Just my .02.

Have fun!

 

[Vince Klortho]

OK, time to narrow the field.
Custom-made cabinets can probably be ruled out.

Amps have to be rugged and built for abuse.
Especially if I don't have a personal tech for emergency situations.
Not sure if I can ask for 2 bass heads, much less extra cabs.
An option may be a nice bass pre, and 2 pwr amps.

I don't think Barefaced are custom cabs because you can give someone a link to them and say I want those. They are a standard product from a smaller, low volume company. At least, that's how I look at them. If Barefaced are ruled out then I would look at one or two Hartke Hx810s. They can get the job done.

I also think two heads are mandatory. Very rarely have I seen a touring band where everyone on stage does not have at least two amps.

BTW, If you choose the Kilo, I noticed it is actually a 3U amp so a nine or ten space race would be needed for the stuff I listed. Personally, I consider Hartke to be very rugged. I have had an amp and a cabinet for over ten years and they have held up very well to a lot of abuse and man-handling. They are also available in several European countries.

 

[Jools4001]

If I were picking out cabinets to pick up in Europe, based on rep and design philosophy I would look seriously at Barefaced.

+ lots and lots

Edit: Oh, and you won't need to bi-amp with these babies, just feed them with a nice amp of your choice and they're all the cab you will ever need. Check them out http://www.barefacedbass.com/

 

[nojj]

Good points for the component system.

I was referring to specially built cabs,
and (to a lesser extent) special-order ones with exotic speakers,
as opposed to off-the-shelf stuff.
I'm worried the client may consider me more trouble than I'm worth,
should the list be........ excessive or exceedingly difficult.

A couple XLS amps have been on my wish list for a while,
for my primary and secondary bass rigs,
as well as my FOH.
Everybody I've talked to rave about 'em.
My only question is: are the XLS (or the QSC brand) D class amps road-worthy?

I've a Bass POD XT live, but frankly, there's some features on it I'm not happy with.
Have used it to drive my power amps, and it has a bi-amp setting.
(and boy does it make the gtr players jealous when my pedalboard is bigger than theirs)

Leaning away from a bi-amp rig for this situation.
A compact preamp may be the ticket for a back-up.
Do like the idea having a couple amps racked up.
Used to have an Ampeg B2R and a Bassmaster 400
in a road rack,
and actually had to take advantage of the fact after the Ampeg caught fire (literally....)

 

[alexclaber]

As mentioned above, we don't do custom cabs - our designs have way too much R&D time for custom designs to be viable unless you're willing to spend as much on a bass cab as you would a car!

I don't know if space is an issue on tour but one of our rigs will only need to be about half the size of a run of the mill rig, to get comparable loudness and bottom.

 

[Buster Brown]

I'd asked about power, and pretty much everyplace we'll be hitting has 117V 60cycle
(just need some universal plug adapters)
I was the only one who asked pertinent questions about this sort of thing.
Maybe that's why I made the cut.
(Besides my scintillating personality & immense size of my.....amp)

Brenner, I'm in Pgh too. Small world.
Da 'Burgh musicians get little respect,
unless they happen to be elsewhere.
Then it's: Dude, yer from Pittsburgh & make a living there?
Lemmee shake your hand and buy ya a beer..................

I'm open to most anything gear wise,
but wondered if the new lightweight stuff can hold up under road rigors.
Just one of several options.
I'm kinda leaning towards gear made across the pond:
easier to get over there, and distinctive back in the states.

One thought occurred to me.
After the tour, I'll probably have a couple shekels left to get neos here..........

Yeah, I do like my Genz cabs.
They have no problem hitting the lows on a B string, or a dropped-D.
Did smoke the XO in the extended cab one time.
Pulled it out, and the circuit board looked like a burnt pop-tart.


Looks like 4 RVs or so, each w/ trailers.
Techs travel with us, local crew is hired at the venues.
(I've not talked with the logistics folks)
I'd assume one trailer for backline, one for lighting & crap,
and 2 for FOH

I would go Orange for guitar and Bass. They are all over Europe, already wired properly, MORE than capable of doing the job and, in the event that you need parts or service, it's no biggie - whether in England, Amsterdam, Germany or Spain.

And, I would insist on road cases for the lot.

Good luck!!

 

[aledeville]

I'd certainly go for Glockenklang cab's. Two Double's (212) or two TakeFive's (410) combined with a head of your taste... Massive. Good sounding. Strong. Good looking.

As a head I would pick up something reliable, with a history of reliability. Not the SVT7. Even though they seem to have fixed that issue, I still wouldn't.
There are plenty of good heads. Or take a nice preamp and combine it with a Synq Audio 2k2. VT Bass DI maybe?

 

[Downunderwonder]

Good idea to have some kind of sansamp DI ready to step on "just in case".

 

[nojj]

Hi Alex, thanks for clearing that up.
Also thanks to the Across-the-Pond Brotherhood for stepping up.
(Not to leave out all the fellas for their advice from here in the states)

I'll put in a request for road cases, especially since they'll be using local crew.

Wading through the plethora of tips as offered.
Currently on the Orange & GK site.
(wonder if Orange offers rack adapters)

 

[Fro 20]

You had asked earlier if QSC class d amps were road-worthy. IMO they really are. I have done like 600+ gigs on mine and it works just like the day I got it. I see alot of other players using them too.

Just be careful to get a preamp that can properly drive it, the inpuit sensitivity of some qsc models is rather high -- 1.4 volts. They have pretty good CS though

 

[nojj]

There's a bunch of class D pwr amps on the market,
but the only 2 I hear about consistently are Crown and QSC.

Not a big fan of menu-based gear.
How are the QSC's relative to that?

 

[Downunderwonder]

Maybe you'll be expected to provide the backline for supporting acts? Having a DSP power amp lets you lock in limiter and highpass, set and forget, no worries about cowboys blowing stuff up for you.

 

[nojj]

Interesting point.
Have to ask the rep next time I talk to him.
Not sure if there even is a support act.

I know when we open for national acts around here,
I have to bring my (our) own backline.

 

[wcoffey81]

how about a trace elliott 1200w bass head and one of their 8x10 cabs? i see they have several dealers in europe.

 

[nojj]

I'm not certain, but I think the TE 8x10 can be switched between all 8 and 4/4

About the same weight as the Genz 8x10

 

[wcoffey81]

i think you are correct and they have a 5 year warranty. plus USA built.

 

[bassdog]

Not sure about heads but why not Bergantino cabs and call it a day?

Bob

 

[nojj]

Bergs are on the list .
that 6x10 looked pretty promising,



I've never had anybody hand me a blank check for gear before,
and there's still some questions I need answered from the tour rep
before I can make an informed decision.

Suppose the cabs can be determined first,
so I'll concentrate on those for the moment.

Right now I have to go handle an emergency job,
somebody locked themselves out of their house.